2024 CFB Season: Major Developments To Watch
Three unfolding developments i'm eagerly anticipating this upcoming season
We’re officially four weeks away from the 2024 college football season. Summer workouts are wrapping up, conference media days are at their end, and training camps are starting nationwide. It feels like just yesterday we watched Michigan defeat Washington for the National Championship, yet here we are again getting ready to start another season.
As we’ve talked about before, college football is never short on storylines. However, despite unanimous love for the sport as a whole, we all have different perspectives on what makes a good story. For me, those perspectives change depending on what I’m wearing. As a writer, you have to be as objective and almost as disassociated as possible when reporting on news or specific topics.Â
As a talent evaluator and scout, my perspective shifts to a singular individual and their strength and weaknesses, also what they may look like on the next level in the NFL. At the end of the day and most importantly, the number one perspective remains that of one as a fan. There’s nothing like watching football for pure enjoyment and entertainment.Â
Whether it’s a primetime SEC game, B1G noon kickoff, Conference USA Tuesdays, MACtion, or late night Mountain West thriller (RIP PAC12 after dark) — nothing beats watching college football. As we inch closer to the first kickoff of the year, I wanted to take a moment to talk about my personal favorite situations to monitor going into the season.Â
DeBoer & Milroe Magic?
Alabama QB Jalen Milroe (4) - John David Mercer/USA Today Sports
Both Kalen DeBoer & Jalen Milroe’s stories need no rehashing - they’re two of the most talked about and analyzed people in the sport. However, that doesn’t take away the intrigue going into the season. Having demonstrated sustained offensive success at multiple stops, DeBoer has created a reputation as one of the best offensive minds and play-callers in the sport.Â
Couple that with the Milroe and his dynamic ability as a passer and runner, and you have the ingredients for one of the more explosive offenses in the country. There seems to be little question about the duo being productive. The question is how fast does the marriage jump into warp speed and what exactly it does it look like. Milroe is a completely different athlete than the likes of Jake Haener and Mike Penix Jr.
Will we see more condensed formations & heavy sets with Alabama’s offensive line & tight end personnel at the disposal? Will we see more designed quarterback runs? How early do we see young talented players like WR’s Ryan Williams & Caleb Odom unleashed? Can Milroe make a step in the short to intermediate passing game? And most importantly, if all these things happen, where does that leave Alabama & Milroe? College Football Playoff contenders? First round pick? Who knows exactly but I cannot wait to see it play out on the field.Â
Wink’s Return To College Football
Michigan Defensive Coordinator Wink Martindale - Detroit Free Press
When former NFL defensive coordinator Wink Martindale agreed to terms with the University of Michigan, absolutely nobody was surprised. It’s pretty much a match made in heaven on paper. The University of Michigan coming off a National Championship, but also the departure of their head coach, defensive coordinator, and strength coach needed a strong football and personal voice.Â
Former offensive line coach and offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore took over the head coaching duties when Jim Harbaugh left for the Los Angeles Chargers job in the NFL. The head coaching transition was a no-brainer seeing as Moore oversaw head coaching duties for the games Harbaugh was suspended for during the 2023 season. Losing coaches like Mike Macdonald & Jesse Minter since the start of the 2021 season would be a serious blow to most programs.
But when you’re Michigan, you can attract names like Wink Martindale. The biggest question I have is, what the hell is this defense going to look like schematically? It’s been 20 years since Martindale has been at the collegiate ranks when he was the defensive coordinator at Western Kentucky.
We know that he’s known for his ultra aggressive blitz schemes, wide array of personnel units, & the ability to cause pre-snap visual headaches for offenses. He’ll have no shortage of talent as the Michigan arguably has four of the top ten defensive players in college football.Â
Will that allow him to be more versatile with the sticks or actually condense the call sheet altogether? That remains to be seen, but if Michigan has any hope of repeating as National Champions, they’ll need to see Wink at his best.Â
Who Wins The ACC?
Miami Head Coach Mario Cristobal - Miami Herald
25 years ago, you could make a legitimate argument that the current crop of ACC teams were among the best in college football. You had Miami, Florida State, Virginia Tech, & others rotating amongst the best in the sport. We’re a far cry from those days, but with the addition of Stanford and Cal, the ACC remains one of the premier four conferences in college football. The thing is, who is going to take the crown?
There’s always the Clemson Tigers and Coach Dabo Sweeney. Coming off a 9-4 season in 2023, it was first time in twelve seasons that the Clemson Tigers didn’t win at least ten games. On paper, the Tigers don’t look all too different. They’re a year more experienced at positions like quarterback and defensive tackle which should help them potentially get over the hump and close games this season.Â
There’s the Miami Hurricanes & Coach Mario Cristobal. Hurricanes finished 7-6 in 2023. While that was an improvement on the 5-7 season from 2022, the Hurricanes left 2023 season with a bitter taste in their mouth. They notoriously let ball games slip away. Most notably, the Georgia Tech game in which they lost on a last second play as a result of a coaching blunder.Â
However, with that behind them, the Hurricanes had one of the better transfer portal classes of the 2024 cycle by adding primetime players like quarterback Cam Ward & and running back Damien Martinez. The Hurricanes should be as confident as anyone heading into the 2024 season, and depending on the result, we may be talking about Mario Cristobal in two very different manners at the end of the season.
Defending champion Florida State, solid contender North Carolina, & always tough NC State round out the rest of the contenders from my viewpoint. All in all, this is one of the biggest toss up picks when it comes to a conference champion and automatic playoff qualifier. Winning this conference won’t be easy, but someone has to do it.